A toxicology report has confirmed that four children found dead in an upstate New York home had been given sedating substances before they were killed in a suspected murder-suicide carried out by their mother and grandmother. Harper, 13, Hudson, 11, and 10-year-old twins Gavin and Gracelynn Harmon were discovered alongside their mother, Sarah Myers, 44, and grandmother, Amy Steadman, 64, on 23 June, after a neighbour reported an unusual number of flies and a smell coming from the Mechanicville apartment. Police believe the pair drugged the children and stabbed Gavin multiple times on 10 June, shortly before the children were due to be reunited with their father, before killing themselves.

The toxicology results, obtained by WNYT, showed the children had kratom and diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, in their systems, which police say is consistent with the direction of their investigation. Officers say messages exchanged between Myers and Steadman detailed a plan to medicate the children within a set timeframe, while internet searches linked to the pair reportedly included queries about medication reactions and "the most fatal place to be stabbed". Steadman also allegedly visited several pharmacies beforehand, and investigators recovered a signed confession from her along with unsigned notes, believed to be from Myers, alleging the family had suffered abuse in Utah. The children's father, Brady Harmon, has denied the abuse claims and says he was expecting the children to visit him that summer under a custody agreement.